PRESENTATION
Hartford Wolf Pack
Erik Hansen - VP Business Operations
Erik Hansen has been the Vice President for Business Operations for the Hartford Wolf Pack since December 2019. He is a graduate of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He started out as a Criminal Justice major, but an internship with a police unit convinced him he didn't have the stomach for it. He switched to communications which matched up to his love of sports. After graduation in 2002, he started out with the Philadelphia Phantoms Hockey team as a Senior Account Executive. He moved on to the 76ers and Flyers working on increased sales results. Prior to arriving in Hartford, he spent time with the South Carolina Stingrays, the NY Jets, and eight years with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. This experience led to a call to come to Hartford and join the Wolf Pack/Rangers team in his current position.
The Wolf Pack won their first fourteen home games and ticket sales were surging. In March, COVID-19 stopped everything. Erik was at home when he heard that the NBA was calling off their season and knew that hockey would likely also stop.
The Wolf Pack is a minor league team with a record of moving 80% of its players up to the NHL as a main development league. The Wolf Pack has had a number of members move up to the NY Rangers. Erik compared NHL ticket sales to the Wolf Pack's pricing. NHL tickets with food run about $200 on average, while local tickets run $16 yielding a great value. The minor league currently has 16 teams with more coming. The league used to be primarily a New England league, but teams are forming around the country. The league is all about growing players. Players must be at least 18 years old, but most are in the 20's. They are encouraged to work in the community with a strong emphasis to introduce kids to hockey.
Where does the league stand now? December 4th was the target date to reopen, but that is becoming much less likely. Attendance is the primary source of income. The XL Center is still closed. Erik said that the XL Center could have 3500 fans in the arena under COVID-19 guidelines. Spectre is the parent company that manages the arena and restaurants. January or February seems to be a more realistic timeframe for the reopening. Like most companies, the future is uncertain at the moment. Most of the XL Center staff had to be let go. Erik said is has been performing a variety of tasks normally performed by support staff. The Toronto Soccer League is coming to train this coming week. Erik is convince that the team will be back bigger and stronger that before the pandemic.
Rollie Sterrett asked about the future of the XL Center. Erik said that Spectre still has plans for a face lift and moving forward to make the center the hub for downtown Hartford. The Center needs to find reasons for people to come back to downtown. Lots of money is being spent.
Phil Ferrari asked whether the NCAA has cancelled games at the XL Center. According to Erik they have not. The center can hold basketball but fans are needed to make it financially worthwhile.
Rollie wondered whether an NHL team might ever come back to Hartford. Erik didn't think that would be realistic now. NHL would require a higher population density and more local attractions to draw enough fans to NHL games.
Tom Voorhees asked about increasing attendance. Erik listed three factors that drive attendance--season tickets sales, group sales and single tickets. Currently Hartford lacks enough season ticket holders. When Erik was with the Phantoms, they had the highest season ticket base in the league. Erik is working on reasons to build season ticket sales for the Wolf Pack. The arena can hold 17,000 people.
Kershwin Singh asked whether the NHL had any incentive to fund needed improvements. The NY Rangers would need a higher fan base.
Rollie asked about pay for the players. The Rangers pay the salaries of the Wolf Pack players. A typical contract for the AHL/NHL is about $100,000. The top salary is about $600,000.
